


tender heart

by blushymika



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Drinking, Drunken Confessions, Light Angst, M/M, Slow Dancing, especially slow dancing, is it really dancing if they’re both drunk though, it’s there if you squint Really hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 02:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15720156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blushymika/pseuds/blushymika
Summary: He wants to stay, no matter how scary it’ll get further down the road. Although, when he thinks about it, there may be nothing to be scared of. He has his necklace…He has Mollymauk Tealeaf.





	tender heart

**Author's Note:**

> hellooo critters..! writing this widomauk fic is officially one of my stages of grief after episode 26 which i am still trying to recover from lmao. i also happen to not be caught up with the campaign right now because i’m dumb and i miss molly
> 
> anyways! i hope this is at least enjoyable for people to read. characterizations are a bitch and i’m still trying to figure out how to write all of these amazing people so apologies if it’s not The Best <3

Caleb Widogast isn’t one for sentiments. Well, he isn’t the type of person for anything really. Wracked with paranoia, guilt, and remorse, Caleb tends to isolate himself from the rest of the group, making him Jester’s best and most favourite victim.

“Caleb, don’t you get bored from reading all day?” Jester wonders aloud as she sits in front of the wizard. “Especially since you’re always alone by yourself! Where’s Nott, anyway?”

“She is with Fjord,” Caleb answers, not bothering to make eye contact with the tiefling or to be wary enough to notice that Jester’s drawing yet another penis inside his book. “She told me she was getting the itch, so I told Fjord to make sure that she does not get into any trouble with the crownsguard.”

“That’s so nice of you, Caleb,” Jester tells him, but not ready to leave the man alone just yet. “But aren’t you lonely because she’s left?”

“Nein.”

“But you don’t have anyone to talk to!”

This time, Caleb looks up at her. “I am fine with not having anyone to talk to sometimes, Jester.”

And it’s true. Yes, this is the most fun he’s had in awhile with a group of people, but he does need some time to himself. After a long day, whether it be a fight or shopping for parchment, the wizard needs to recharge. He isn’t an endless power source like Jester here.

“But you only talk to Nott and not the rest of us,” Jester protests with a pout as she leans further over the table. “Or… am I wrong and there is someone else you talk to, Caleb?”

Caleb eyes her carefully, face now a little pink. “Why are you saying that like I am hiding something?”

“Because you are hiding something, Caleb,” Jester sings, sliding a spoon between the pages of the wizard’s book to save his place before slamming the book shut. “It is too obvious! Now, tell me! Please!”

“I am not hiding anything, Jester.”

“C’mon, Caleb! Please, for me? _Pretty_ please?”

“Jester, I am not hiding any—”

“Are we sharing secrets?” Molly asks, as jolly as ever while pulling up a seat and taking his place next to Caleb. “Oh, do tell, friends!”

To Jester’s surprise, Caleb immediately tenses and his face is set ablaze once Molly enters the picture.

A smirk pulls at the small, blue tiefling’s lips which can only mean one thing: trouble is afoot.

“We are not sharing anything, Mollymauk,” Caleb says as nonchalantly as he can.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Jester exclaims, waving her hands in front of the two who stare back at her with blank expressions.

Then, she clears her throat as if she’s currently in the presence of a king.

“Molly,” Jester sings coyly, “do you want in on some gossip?”

The man in question looks back at her with an unbelievable expression before he raises his hand, signalling the bartender to get him a drink as soon as possible.

“Without question, darling.”

Caleb, behind the shelter of his spell book, rolls his eyes, swearing to himself to hide up in his room with Nott instead of making himself vulnerable to both of the tieflings inside the tavern ever again.

Once Molly’s drink comes to their table, they begin.

“So what’s this I hear about gossip?” Molly inquires, his drink sloshing inside his cup as he mindlessly fidgets.

“Caleb is hiding something, Molly,” Jester tells him before whining in a drawl. “And he won’t tell me what it is!”

“I am not hiding anything,” Caleb insists.

However, Jester is as persistent as ever and Molly knows this far too well. Just a little while ago, he had fallen victim to one of Jester’s truth spells. Now, unfortunately, the group knows far too much for Molly to feel at peace with himself again, especially after the time at The Gentleman’s.

Nott had gotten far too pushy for Molly’s liking the other day, but it’s not like he expected her to understand or for anyone else to for that matter. Unless, well, there are somehow other people who had woken up inside the earth with no idea who they are; however, the chances do seem slim.

Although, Molly knows now that the group he and Yasha have been acquainted themselves with are nothing but unpredictable. The memory of Caleb offering him the support he needed during a time like that had made his heart flourish into a blossom of respect and adoration.

Ever since then, Molly has realized that his infatuation for the wizard may just be more than a little crush.

Now that he’s blushing, Molly tries his best to hide the goofy smile that manages to wander over his face. He doesn’t want to give Jester anymore to go off on since his wizard friend isn’t necessarily the best at hiding his feelings; well, that is, when it comes to these types of feelings.

“Oh, c’mon, please?” Jester sighs heavily, starting to become frustrated because there will always be some sort of fun in knowing about a little romance. “Molly, doesn’t it look like something is up?”

Playing right into Jester’s hands, Molly rubs his chin, looking Caleb up and down. Instantly, he hears the wizard’s voice inside his head: “Mollymauk, you are treading on thin ice here.”

To which, Molly hides a chuckle and a snicker before he turns back to Jester with a little tap on Caleb’s back with his pointed tail.

“No, dear, he looks _perfectly_ fine to me,” Molly finally answers. “Don’t worry about it. You’re making Caleb nervous, that’s all.”

“Fineeee,” Jester says, in defeat. “Well, I’ll trust you Molly since you’re the Caleb expert.”

At this, Molly blushes, hoping that his dark, purple skin is able to hide his embarrassment. “No, no, it’s nothing like that,” he says, covering it up. “We just know each other well.”

Beside him, he hears Caleb groan quietly.

“I mean, we’re friends, so I do know a lot of stuff about him just like I know a lot of stuff about you, Jester,” Molly explains while absentmindedly fixing the jewelry arranged on his horns. After all, it’s a rather extravagant display. It needs to be perfect and it definitely is not to fidget with when the tiefling gets nervous.

“You didn’t need to explain, Molly!” Jester assures. “I know _exactly_ what you mean.”

Then, before Molly can make some sort of excuse about how he has nothing to do with Caleb which would just make matters worse, Jester interrupts him in Infernal:

“ _Mollyyy, I love your new boyfriend._ ”

And with that, Jester makes her grand exit, leaving the bloodhunter and the wizard by themselves at the table with Molly just a little bit tipsy.

“Mollymauk, what did she say?” Caleb asks, although he thinks he gets the gist of the whole thing already.

Molly sighs anxiously, knowing now that Caleb will want to end things now that their ‘relationship’ will be out to the whole group by morning.

“She said that she loves my new boyfriend.”

Caleb stays silent for a moment which adds more  and more worry to both his and Molly’s anxiety.

“So I guess we’re calling this off then?”

Snapping out of his silence, Caleb perks up, his blue eyes meeting red. “I did not say that I wanted to stop… our relationship, Mollymauk.”

“Our relationship?” Molly repeats, looking at the wizard in disbelief. All this time, he had wondered if all those kisses they shared in bed together were serious enough to define what the two had as a relationship. This time, nothing rushes through Molly but relief and warmth.

“Well, that is… what I wanted to happen between us when I first kissed you,” Caleb says honestly while rubbing the scruff covering his face. “Do you feel the same way?”

Ever since Yasha had given Caleb a shave back in the caverns ages ago, Molly hasn’t been able to stop thinking about the wizard’s stubble and how it would feel against his own face.

“Yes, I do,” Molly replies with as much honesty as the man beside him has within him. “I’ve liked you for a pretty long time.”

“Oh, I’ve never noticed.”

Molly snorts at this. “Well, I didn’t expect you to.”

“What do you mean by that?” Caleb smiles warmly, causing a natural instinct to surge inside the tiefling.

Once the words leave his mouth, Caleb feels Molly’s tail wrap around his leg gently. From what Caleb has known from their three weeks of being  romantically involved with each other, it’s something that Molly has a habit of doing when he’s feeling affectionate.

“I mean, it’s a Caleb thing, you know?”

“I do not know, Mollymauk,” Caleb answers, looking rather confused yet curious at the same time.

Molly scratches the back of his head. “Well, you’re just… cute and it’s just something you would do or a _Caleb_ thing in this case,” he attempts. “What I mean is that I find it endearing that with spells and books, you’re the smartest man I’ve ever seen, but with romance, you’re like a preschooler.”

This time, Caleb is the one to snort before he throws his head back to let out a song of boisterous, happy laughter.

And, well, it’s simply the cutest thing Molly has ever had the chance to lay his eyes on.

“A preschooler…” Caleb says between puffs of laughter. “Well, that is something I have heard before.”

Molly tenses. “Really? From who?”

“An old friend.” Caleb nods, taking Molly’s hand in his. “She used to say that I was the absolute worst at dancing,” he says, reminiscent. “I used to step on her feet all the time.”

Molly stays silent, not knowing what to say even when he’s trying to find the right words. Right now, in this moment, it seems that Caleb is talking about someone he courted in the past.

And Molly doesn’t mean to get jealous, but it’s not that easy to control.

Caleb feels the tiefling’s tail hug his leg tightly.

“Oh… an old friend,” Molly echoes and Caleb can see the change in expression. “Did she used to be more than that?”

Caleb blushes, shifting in his seat as he watches Molly reach for the drink he had ordered.

“Ja,” he answers, not finding the need to lie to Molly; they’re courting each other now, so there is no need to hide any secrets. “But not anymore. It was a long time ago.

“I am with you now, Mollymauk.”

Molly’s cheeks flush and he breaks eye contact, looking off into the distance. “I… I know,” he clears his throat. “I wasn’t worried or anything.”

Caleb smiles softly and warmly once again, reminding Molly of the warmth of the campfire during his time at the circus with Yasha. It makes him feel safe and it reminds him of home where everything was just a little less hectic than they are now.

“I know,” Caleb nods, biting his lip. “But, Mollymauk, I like you. I like you a lot and I hope this will not be a temporary thing.”

“I don’t want this to be a temporary thing either, Mister Caleb,” Molly says, a smile appearing on his face again which makes Caleb feel a whole lot more relieved; he’d feel terrible if he made Molly upset when he had accidentally talked too much about Astrid. “I like you too.”

Molly raises his drink, waiting for Caleb.

The wizard hides a silly grin behind the shelter of his scarf as he raises his own cup.

Their drinks give a mighty sound as they knock together, some of the liquid spilling over the top, but none of that matters during a moment as warm and tender as this one.

The bottoms of their cups meet the wooden surface of the table once again when Molly leans forward, taking Caleb’s face in his hands and steals a long, heartfelt kiss from the man of unpredictable nature.

 

* * *

 

Since Caleb had reached the drinking age, he’s discovered that he’s a bit of a lightweight. Well, Astrid had said that he’s more of a _huge_ one, but he still believes that she was just exaggerating.

Caleb has no problem with holding his own weight and that’s been proven after tonight’s drinking competition.

He stands up, stepping over the unconscious gnome on the floor as the world spins, the beer he had drunk successfully and effectively intoxicating his entire body.

“Caleb?”

Instead of words, an incoherent babble of gibberish comes out of the wizard’s mouth alongside a huge burp that Caleb hopes he won’t remember tomorrow morning.

“Oh my Gods, Caleb, are you all right?” Molly asks, his expression showing both amusement and concern. “How are you holding up?”

“Oh, Mollymauk, I am fine,” Caleb assures him, leaning in further towards the other man to the point where he gently knocks his nose against Molly’s. “But _you_ are even more fine.”

Snorting, Molly takes ahold of Caleb’s arms, holding him tightly so he doesn’t fall.

“You really aren’t doing so well, dear,” he tells him. “You need to sit down before you fall.”

“I… already fell, Mollymauk.”

“Was it earlier?” the bloodhunter demands, now looking even more worried. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“Nein, nein,” Caleb shakes his head drowsily. “It is nice to fall like this… nice to be here with you.. falling for you, Mollymauk.”

“Oh, jeez,” Molly shakes his head as well, watching while Caleb sinks further down until his face is in the tiefling’s chest. “Drunk Caleb, you truly are too much to handle.”

“But you like it,” Caleb shoots back.

“Yes, I love it,” Molly admits with a loving sigh, leading Caleb over to sit down at the table with the rest of the Nein while Nott is still fighting through the drinking competition.

“Whoa, Caleb, you’re not looking so good,” Fjord recoils, already standing up to fetch a much lighter drink for his friend. “You need some water?”

“Hah, okay that is good, Bird Eye Fjord,” Caleb nods, one arm thrown over Molly. “Thank you.”

As Fjord walks away, ego inflated from Caleb’s comment, Molly turns towards the latter. “You’re not going to throw up are you?”

“If you’re gonna throw up on any of us, please make it Molly,” Beau rushes out. “He’s the least drunk one here.”

“I’m sober!” Jester argues. “But, do not throw up on me Caleb or you will wake up with no d—”

“Molly is the one here that deserves it the most,” Beau interrupts. “Is what I meant, Jester.”

Holding up two fingers, Molly makes an upward motion with his hand while his tail wraps around Caleb’s waist. “You’re awful,” he tells her, kicking her underneath the table.

“You’re awful’er,” Beau shoots back, not caring enough to acknowledge that what she said isn’t even a word.

“Even if I vomited on Mollymauk, he would still be very handsome,” Caleb says honestly, rubbing Molly’s thigh with his hand.

“Gross,” Beau scoffs, sticking her tongue out.

“That’s so cute!” Jester squeals, shaking Beau’s shoulder with way too much energy for the rest of the table.

“Fuck, I’m gonna hurl,” Beau mumbles under her breath, her cheeks puffing out as her body is thrown back and forth through Jester’s strength alone.

“Jester, that’s enough now,” Fjord says, taking his seat beside Molly again and giving Caleb the cup of water. “She’s not looking too good over there. We have enough folks throwin’ up ‘n here already.”

“I just got so excited!” Jester explains, letting go of Beau and giving her a small, affectionate pat on the forehead. “Fjord, you should’ve heard what Caleb said about Molly. It was to _die_ for!”

“Oh please, Caleb’s just drunk,” Molly tells them.

“Nein.”

“If you weren’t drunk you wouldn’t be drooling on my shoulder, darling.”

Caleb snorts, posture straightening as he relieves himself of his sleepy composure. “Ah, I may not be all that sober right now, but… it is true everyone.

“Mollymauk is very handsome. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” Jester agrees, cheering as she lifts Beau’s drink and knocks it against Caleb’s bare hand. “Cheers to Molly’s handsomeness!”

“Hurrah..!” Caleb grins, hand returning to Molly’s thigh to continue his tired drawing of circles on his boyfriend’s leg.

“Gods, Caleb, you need to rest,” Molly insists, blushing from head to toe. “C’mon now.”

“Mmm… you know, I will make a deal with you, Mollymauk,” Caleb answers.

“Fine,” Molly gives in, not being able to resist even Caleb’s drunken charm. “What kind of deal, dear?”

“If you dance with me I will go to bed with you and rest.”

“Ja ja, whatever you want, Caleb,” Molly agrees lightheartedly, imitating the wizard’s Zemnian accent.

“You can teach me how,” Caleb jokes.

“Like I’d know how to waltz,” Molly quips, laughing under his breath. It smells like booze, but Caleb can’t find it in himself to care.

“You do not?”

“How would I know how to do something like that?” Molly laughs, then looks at Caleb with wonder. “Do you know how to waltz?”

“Yes,” Caleb blurts out. “I learned a long time ago, but I was not very good, so I will not be much of a teacher.”

“Especially like this,” Molly teases.

Caleb nods, almost falling over from the movement. “Yes, especially like this,” he agrees. “But I want to teach you, Mollymauk.”

“I’d be happy to,” Molly nods and looks Caleb up and down with a smile. “Should I be the one offering my hand to you or are you going to fall down if you stand up?”

“Fall down probably.”

“Well, I like men who are honest,” Molly confesses. “Unlike myself.”

“Sometimes we are all a fan of your lies and bullshit,” Caleb tells Molly, patting him on the cheek affectionately.

“No we’re not!” Beau protests angrily, still intoxicated beyond belief. “Speak for yourself, Caleb.”

Molly stands up, extending his hand out to the drunken Caleb. “Let’s ignore Beau, darling,” he smiles, not paying attention to the infuriated monk that is currently being held back by Fjord. “So, Caleb Widogast, may I take your hand and whisk you away for a drunken dance?”

“Ja, of course,” Caleb smiles lazily, putting as much energy as he can muster into standing up with Molly supporting him like always.

As Molly steers Caleb through the throng, an enchantment falls over the wizard. It’s not at all lethal, but perhaps it is dangerous in its own way.

The spell starts to take its effect when his eyes begin to train themselves on Molly’s back as he watches the latter’s tail swish back and forth in excitement. And, through his drunken haze, he watches with love in his eyes when Molly turns back to look at him, smile dazzling and jewellery sparkling from the lights above them both.

It is spells like these that contain little to no magic in them at all that Caleb consider the most dangerous. For someone like him, it’s hard not to run away. It’s hard not to make a break for it when things are starting to get rough.

However, he’s still here with this group - this family. He has both feet planted firmly on the ground and it’s weird. It’s so weird, he thinks, as Molly is still leading him away from the rest of the group.

But Caleb thinks he’ll get used to it eventually. It’s nice to feel grounded. It’s nice to feel _attached_ and not have to wonder when the time will come where he will have to run away.

He wants to stay, no matter how scary it’ll get further down the road. Although, when he thinks about it, there may be nothing to be scared of. He has his necklace…

He has Mollymauk Tealeaf.

When they finally make their way over to the dance floor and through the crowd of drunkards, Molly stops Caleb in his tracks, causing a curious expression to appear on the latter’s face.

“Don’t give me shit if I end up stepping on your toes, all right?” Molly laughs, sticking his tongue out playfully. “I don’t have a lot of dancing experience.”

Caleb hums, smiling at the tiefling with a loving expression. “It sounds like you are saying that you have some experience though. Do you?”

“Maybe…” Molly answers, squeezing Caleb’s hand. “What would you like to know?”

“If I ask are you going to lie to me, Mollymauk?” Caleb asks, his tone suddenly far too serious for someone who has had way too many to drink.

Molly huffs out a laugh, amused by what Caleb has said. “For you… I’ll do anything, even if it means having to be honest.”

“Ah,” Caleb murmurs, face turning even more red than what the alcohol has done to him. “I didn’t know I meant that much to you.”

“You mean everything to me,” Molly tells him. “Everything I’ve ever said about how I feel about you is true. When it comes to you, I will be as honest as I can.

“And I hope, one day, you can be honest with me too, Caleb.”

They stay silent then, wondering what to say as if they’ve never held each other before, touched each other before, or even spoken to each other before.

The music around them is still playing, each note from each instrument striking chords in both Caleb and Molly’s heart. The music plays with both of their heart strings, the serene sounds pulling at them like they’re trying to find some sort of way for them to be honest and connect with someone for once in their lives.

“I’m sorry,” Molly finally says, but Caleb doesn’t know what he could possibly be sorry about it; he’s right, after all. “If I made you uncomfortable.”

“Nein, you are right,” Caleb shakes his head, taking both of Molly’s hands in his own. “I want to be honest with you, Mollymauk, and I will try my best to do so.”

Molly stops for a moment, not knowing what to say, so he doesn’t. He steps forward, leaning his forehead against Caleb’s.

“I’m sorry about the horns,” he says. “It feels right to be with you like this, that’s all.”

Caleb manages a smile, his head still spinning. “I would rather stay like this than dance.”

“Oh no, you’re not getting out of this one, Mister Caleb,” Molly catches him, not even having to think about it. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“Ah, you are too smart for me, Mollymauk.”

Molly snorts again. “Not really,” he denies. “As someone who bullshits people on a daily, it’s not too difficult to catch another person doing it to you.”

“But I am not bullshitting you,” Caleb argues, purposely stepping on Molly’s foot. “It is relaxing to be with you like this. I feel a little less like I am going to vomit all over you.”

“Don’t say it like I’d get mad at you if you did, darling.”

Caleb grins. “Ja, after how you reacted when Nott made a joke about burning your clothes, everyone has been more careful.”

Molly rolls his eyes. “I was kidding just like she was.”

Scoffing, Caleb squeezes Molly tighter. “I like you how you are,” he tells him. “Very handsome, very kind, and very protective over your clothes.”

“C’mon, love, don’t tease me,” Molly pleads jokingly, pecking Caleb on the cheek a couple of times. “Aren’t you the one who wanted to dance with me or are you getting too tired?”

“Nein, I can handle one dance with my partner.”

“Okay, okay,” Molly smiles, trying not to giggle. “I’ll try my best to impress you.”

“Wait, wait, wait..! Your dancing experience,” Caleb remembers. “Where?”

Molly sighs to himself, cursing Caleb’s good memory; even when he’s hammered, Caleb still finds a way to remember such trivial things.

“Well, in the circus, before my fortune telling and my sword juggling, I was… a dancer,” Molly recalls. “Although, I wasn’t too good at it which makes a lot of sense considering how I wasn’t even involved in the main event when we all first met.”

Caleb frowns a little. “I doubt you were bad,” he says. “You seem to have a knack for these types of things.”

“Oh?” Molly grins.

Caleb nods. “It is very attractive.”

“You’re very honest when you’re drunk, love,” Molly tells him. “It’s quite cute.”

“Ja, well, _you_ are cute.”

“C’mon, Magic Man, stop complimenting me and teach me how to waltz already,” Molly laughs.

“It is very hard to stop,” Caleb counters. “You would not understand.”

However, Caleb relents, deciding to take the lead in the dance as he guides Molly through the steps. It’s rather difficult trying to remember the dance considering how long ago it was and due to the fact that Caleb is fucking hammered at the moment, but he manages.

For Molly, it’s hard to understand what Caleb is trying to tell him for two reasons. One, he’s very drunk; and two, he is a very attractive man with a very handsome face.

Molly nods along at the end of each of Caleb’s sentences, trying his best to keep up because Caleb had insisted on dancing as he teaches.

“Didn’t know you had two left feet, Molly!” Beau shouts from the other side of the establishment.

“Go fuck yourself, Beau!” Molly yells back, his whole face flushing from embarrassment before he focuses back onto Caleb. “Sorry, dear, I’m not too good at this as you can tell.”

“You are amazing, Mollymauk,” Caleb assures, moving Molly further away from the group. “I am having a good time.”

“Really?” Molly asks. “Even if by the end of this I will have stomped off at least three of your toes?”

“Even then.”

As their dance continues, the music seems to fade into a more slow, classy pace instead of its usual uplifting and jovial tempo.

Caleb’s pace changes with the music like he’s completely in sync with each and every note. Molly has no doubt that when Caleb was younger, he must’ve been an expert at ballroom dancing. The thought humours him for awhile as Caleb guides him, their hearts slowly opening up to one another with the help of their love and the nearby band.

From what Molly can see, Caleb looks relaxed and in spite of Molly’s horrible dancing, the human looks happy. He looks at peace and suddenly Caleb doesn’t look as old as he usually does.

The crease in his forehead is gone and instead of a straight line, Caleb’s lips are turned up in a smile. He looks comfortable, at ease, and not afraid for once.

Molly knows that Caleb tends to get lost in the moments that come across him, whether they be bad or good. And, normally, he would be the one snapping Caleb out of it.

However, with how Caleb is looking right now without all that fright in his eyes, Molly decides that there will be time for that later.

“Hey, Caleb?” Molly whispers softly for only the two of them to hear. “I need to tell you something… and I don’t think it’s something I can tell you after tonight because I just can’t hold it in anymore.”

“ _Was_? Mollymauk, what are you talking about,” Caleb asks, the song and the dance finally coming to a stop.

“I love you,” he tells him honestly with his heart hammering inside his chest and his tail flicking anxiously behind him. “I love you, Caleb.

“I don’t just like you anymore… I love you.”

Molly knows he’s being selfish, but he can’t help but want. It’s perfectly normal, isn’t it? To want things from time to time. A month ago, they had both decided that their relationship wasn’t just some fling, but a loving bond between two people who care very much about each other.

If that’s the case, Molly thinks, will Caleb not hate him from now on? Even if the wizard doesn’t feel the same, can he blame Molly?

He wouldn’t, but Molly thinks it will be difficult for Caleb to understand why and how.

The tiefling doesn’t know much about Caleb’s past, but it is clear as crystal that Caleb doesn’t think much about himself and if he does, it is not in a very gratifying way.

The way Caleb views himself is the exact opposite of what Molly sees him as.

While Caleb sees himself as nothing but garbage, Molly thinks he’s beautiful and a good man. The way he takes Nott in his arms when she manages to cast a new spell melts Molly all over.

A bad person… even an average person… would never do something like that.

To Molly, Caleb is more than what he has done in his past. And, if Caleb believes in second starts, then he should believe that he can start anew as well. It’s only fair.

They can start new lives together, can’t they?

“Caleb? Caleb, love, are you all right?” Molly asks, concerned. “You’re looking a little pale all of a sudden..!”

It is then, in this moment, where Caleb loses his grip on his nausea. He vomits, back hunched over as the contents fall onto the ground while some of it found its place on Molly’s shirt.

“Scheiße!” Caleb curses, coughing and huffing. “Gods, Mollymauk, I am so sorry. I have had too much to drink.”

Molly laughs a little, trying not to feel the pang in his heart as he holds Caleb and tries his best to comfort him. “No, love, don’t worry,” he assures. “It’s okay… but did you hear what I said, Caleb?”

“Huh?” Caleb murmurs, humming into Molly’s shoulder tiredly. “No… what was it, Molly?”

“It’s… nothing, dear,” Molly insists. “I guess I’m feeling a little tipsy myself.”

Caleb looks at him curiously like he’s analyzing him as Molly keeps up the smile with his tail swishing excitedly behind him.

“Are you sure?”

“Always am.”

“Ja, okay,” Caleb gives in, still not too sure, but still too drunk to persevere any longer. “We should go to bed.”

“Of course, whatever you want,” Molly agrees, looping his arm through Caleb’s. “Don’t fall.”

“I will be careful since you will get mad at me if I am not.”

Molly blushes lightly. “It’s because I care about you, that’s all.”

“And I care about you too, Mollymauk,” Caleb smiles, noticing the colour that rushes up into the tiefling’s cheeks. “Once I am not so drunk I will have to talk to you about how impulsive you are.”

Molly clicks his tongue. “I am not impulsive!” he shakes his head. “The better word would be adventurous.”

“Or impulsive, ja?”

Rolling his eyes, Molly turns his head, giving Caleb a kiss on the cheek. “I’m protective,” he tells him. “Rather something happen to me than for you all to be put in any danger.”

“We do not want you in any danger either, Mollymauk.”

“I know, but there’s no stopping me,” Molly persists with a smile and Caleb starts to wonder how anyone could smile when they’re talking about their own life being in danger. “This is who I am.”

“Well, we will have to work on that,” Caleb mumbles. “Believe it or not, I do not want you dead.”

Molly leans forward now, eyes twinkling with playfulness. “Oh, is that so?”

“Ja,” Caleb frowns, reaching up to pull on Molly’s horn which causes the latter’s face to break out into a goofy smile. “I want you with me.”

“That’s cute.”

“We are going to bed,” Caleb says, almost in a whine. “Come on.”

“Coming, darling,” Molly sings, letting out a laugh full of affection as he trails after his partner with anticipation and nervousness inside his heart.

It isn’t like Molly to hold back what he wants and needs to say. But this isn’t some play to trick some lady or man in a bar to give him an extra drink on the house. This is Caleb, romantic, mushy feelings and all.

With something like this, Molly knows he needs to be careful, especially with someone like Caleb.

He doesn’t know much about Caleb’s past or what he has done, but Molly already knows that none of it matters because the person who Caleb is now is good enough for him.

Whatever Caleb has done in the past means nothing to him for the Caleb he sees in front of him right now is kind and does good.

He protects, he studies, and he cares even though he doesn’t think he does. He makes jokes that can be rather funny at times and that’s enough for Molly.

The Caleb now has faced many challenges and has gone through many things, but he is still here… alive and with his friends.

And, one day, he hopes he’ll be able to tell Caleb how he truly feels without being vomited on right after.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! <3


End file.
